Automobile body



A. T. STURT.

AUTOMOBILE BODY.

APPLIEATION FILED mm: 4. 1919.

Patentad Feb. 14, 1922.

umrso STATES PATENT oar-"ice.

ALFRED T. STURT. OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL MOTORS CORPORA- TION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE- AUTOMOBILE BODY.

ipplieation filed. June 4, 1919.

Be it known that ALFRED Specification of Letters Iatent.

T. SHIRT, a

I citizen of the United tates, and resident of New York city, New York County,

5 New York, have invented eertainnew useful Improvements in of which the invention relates in and associated w State of and Automobile Bodies, following is a specification.

to various features ith the bodies of automobiles and similar self-propelled vehicles,

and particularly to means whereby is supported from the frame of the to the arrangemen by the door openings are prov to said body supporting means,

the body vehicle, '0 of the door posts whereided relative and various other features in. and connected with the bodies of automobiles and similar vehicles, all as will hereinafter and at length appear.

propelled The principal to rovide various improve selfohjects of my invention are ments in and relating to means for supporting the vehicle body from the frame of the vehicle an provide certain improvements in and lating to the location the door posts of the ve said body supporting men features of which several hereinafter described at long larly claimed in the conchn W'ith the above and other 0 a nd vention in view, my invention consist (l to arrangement of hicle body relative to us: the particular improvements are th and particuliug claims.

bjects of in- 5 ill the various improvements in and relating to the bodies of autom vehicles hereinafter described a The drawing accompanying a part of this specification illustrates ferred embodimen wherein my invention the will be appreciated that my invention be embodied in various other ohiles and similar nd claimed. nd forming pret of the various features consists; although it specific forms and that the same includes all such variations and modifications of the partic form thereof illustrated, within the scope of the concluding claims, as will naturally frame of an autom certain portions of the away to show features 0 wise hidden.

Figure 2 is a view showing the bod plan, and

illustrating the manner in w ular sug-

gest themselves to those skilled in the art obile in side elevation, body being broken f construction othery in hich the number of Serial No. 301,708.

the same supported from the frame of the vehicle;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail view showing one of several sup ortin devices employed to support thebody roin the frame of the vehicle;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing a.

section taken upon a substantially vertical transverse plane indicated by the line IV IV of *igure 1; and, Figure gether at their front and rear ends, although these details of construction are not illustrated in the drawing. a

The reference numeral 7 designates the body portion of the vehicle, the same being supported from the frame members 6 and the form. thereof illustrated in the drawing beingprovided with front and rear seats, although the distinguishing features wherein my invention consists, regarded in their broader aspects, are quite independent of seats with which the body' is provided, as well as of the particular shape, outlintg or purpose thereof.

The body 7 is supported from the frame num ers 6 at a plurality of points separate from one another and spaced alon the frame, the vehicle body illustrated being supported at four points 8, although six or more points of support may be provided between the frame and the vehicle body in the larger sizes of vehicles or bodies.

The body is supported from the frame through and by means of supporting devices shown in two different forms in Figures 3 and 4. and which devices comprise a body supporting bracket 9 secured to the framework of the body adjacent the under side thereof, and which brackets are each provided with a vertical or substantially vertical threaded opening within which an ex-. teriorly threaded su porting member 11 is located: and which upporting member is obviously adjustable, vertically, within the opening within which it is located, as by rotating the said number about its axis, the upper end thereof Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

being squared as shown 11 at 12 to facilitate the rotation of the said member within the opening in the bracket 9. The lower ends of the several supporting members 11 rest upon the upper sides of the channel iron frame members 6. from which it follows that the body of the veicle is supported from the said frame memers only at the points at which said sup porting members rest upon the upper surfaces of the frame members.

This supporting of the body at separate points eliminates to relative movement between the sills of the body and the frame members, and caused by a. sliding movement between the sills and the frame members as the frame bends due to unevenness in the ground over which the vehicle is passing, as no portion of the under side of the body is in direct contact with the frame when the supporting membcrs are properly positioned.

It will furthermore be appreciated that by properly adjusting the. threaded supporting members within the openings in the brackets the said members may be so positioned as to secure a substantially equal distribution of the Weightof the body between the several points of support, and further more, the adjustment provided for by the rotation of the supporting members enables the vehicle body to be spaced slightly from the frame so that the deflections of portions of the frame between the points of support. due to unevenness in the roadway, will not bring the portions of the frame between the points of support into contact with the sills of the body. The feature of adjustability provided by the supporting members also enables the body to he so adjusted as to secure a proper operation of the doors without binding in the openings provided for them, which is a further feature of advantage incident to the use of supporting members of the kind employed in my invention.

In order to anchor the body as a Whole curel'y to the frame of the vehicle after it has been roperly adjusted by means of the rotatable supporting members 11, suitable means are provided for fastening the said supporting members directly to the frame of the vehicle at the several points of sup- In the embodiment of my in vcntion illustrated the securing of the body to the frame at the points of support is provided or by vertically extending passages in the, said supporting members, said passages being concentric with the axes of rotation of the said members and through which passages bolts 13 extend, the heads 14 uf'tlle bolts being shown as lying above the squared upper ends of the supporting members and the nuts [5 thereof being shown as beneath the upper portions of the supporting frame members 6, although it will be appreciated the the location of the heads and nuts'may be reversed. The bolts 13 pass through holes providerhin the upper heads of the channel frame member ti, to thereby hold the supportingmembers and body to the frame, as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4 0f the drawing.

In the form of supporting means shown in Figure 3 the bra ket in which the vertically extending opening provided is designed primarily for the purpose of affording support for the sup rting member 11. although of course it is lentally strengthone the corner of the frame in which it is secured. In the form of my invention shown in Figure 4, however, the bracket is provided with an elongatial horizontal portion 16 extending along a cross-sill 11', and with a vertically extending pm'tion 18 ex tending upwardly along one of the door posts to be hereinafter referred to and secured thereto, to thereby strengthen the body at the point Where the said bracket is located, as Well as to provide a support for the threaded supporting member 11 associated with the said bracket.

. eferring now particularly to Figure l, the reference numeral 19 designates one of the supporting sills of thebody portion, the same extending longitudinally thereof and of the frame members 6 of the vehicle; and the reference numerals 20. 29 and 21. 21 designate tw pairs of door posts extending upwardly from the sills 1.) and the lower ends of which are secured to the said sills. These door posts are spaced apart from one another to thereby provide door openings to be closed by the doors 22 of the body; and said posts are substantially parallel, and are inclined rearwardly relative to a vertical line extending through the point of connection between their lower ends and the sill Ill.

This inclining of the door posts relative to a vertical line extdnding' through their points of attachment to the sills provides a wider passageway into the body of the ve hicle just to the rear of the front back of the steering Wheel, secured if the door posts were vertical: and. furthermore, provides a plan oi body con struction in which the lower ends of the rear door posts may be secured directly to the longitudinal sills of the vehicle; whereas if the rear door posts were vertical their lovver order to secure suflicient width of opening between their upper ends and the back of the front seat, which is a construction deficient in stiffness. as well as one materially more expensive than a construction in which the rear door posts are carried by and secured to the side sills of the body.

It will be seen that the inclination of the door posts corresponds approximately with the inclination of the seat backs, so that, for example, when a rear door is opened anentrance passageway isrovided between the rear door posts and the back of the front seat of substantially uniform width from top to bottom and through which a person may enter the body more easily and with less interference than would be the case if the rear door posts were vertical, and the lower end of the rear one of said posts secured to the sill 19 in front of the rear wheel bridge frame or housin The inclination of 51a frontdoor posts rearward also provides a wide entrance opening past the steering wheel, and such posts being substantially parallel with the ack of the front seat also enables the operator to enter the vehicle more readily than would be the case if the door posts in question were vertical, as has usually been the case.

My invention contemplates the arrangement of the body sills 19 edgewise, as best shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5, or, as otherwise' stated, the vertical dimension or height of said sills is much greater than their hori zontal dimension or thickness. This ar' rangement of the sills provides a stiffer construction of body than would be the case if they were arranged flatwise; and, moreover, provides a sill construction in which a stronger joint is secured between the lower endsof the door posts and the sills, because of the greater vertical dimension or height. of the joint between the lower ends of the posts and the sills in question.

Having thus described and explained my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an automobile, the combination with a frame member, and a body supported. therefrom, of a body supporting bracket carried by said bod and having a threaded opening; a threade lower end of which rests upon and is supported by said frame member and the threads of which member engage with the threads of the opening aforesaid, and which supporting member is rotatable about a vertical or substantially vertical axis; and

means for securing said supporting member to said frame.

2. In an automobile, the combination with supporting member the rotation and through which a a frame member, and a body supported therefrom, of a body supporting bracket carried by said body and havinga threaded opening; a threaded supporting member the lower end of which rests upon and is sup ported by said frame member and the threads of which member engage with the threads of the opening aforesaid, and which cated within and the threads of which are in engagement with the threads of said opening, said supporting member having a passage concentric with its axis of rotation and through which :1 securing bolt may tend.

-L In an automobile body, a longitudinally extending]; supporting sillg aeross sill; an upwardly extending; door post; a support-bracket having a horizontal arm se cured to said cross sill, an upwardly extending arm secured to said door post, and a threaded opening located in said horizontal arm; a rotatable thr aided supporting member located within and the threads of which are in engugeount uitli the threads of said opening; and means whereby said support-- in;- member may be secured to a suitable support 5. In an automobile body, a longitudinally extending supporting sill; a cross sill; an upwardly extending door post a sup porting bracket having a horizontal arm se cured to said cross sill, an upwardly extending arm secured to said door post, and a threaded opening located in said horizontal arm; and a rotatable threaded supporting member located within and the threads of which are in engagement with the threads of said opening, said supporting member having a passage concentric with its axis of securing bolt may extend.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. ALFRED T. STURT. 

